Recovery vehicles, such as tow trucks and wreckers, are frequently called upon to recover vehicles under very difficult conditions. For instance, where the wrecked vehicle has careened off a road embankment, it can be very difficult to safely position the recovery vehicle to allow its regular equipment to pull the wrecked vehicle back to the road surface. This is particularly true for traditional tow trucks equipped with hook and chain or wheel lifts. Even for flatbed wreckers, such recoveries can be difficult or dangerous if road conditions do not permit sufficient space for the wrecker bed to be pointed toward the wrecked vehicle.
To address these problems, it is known to equip tow trucks and other recovery vehicles with side pullers. A side puller is usually mounted proximate to the vehicle frame rearward of the cab, between the cab and the wheel lift or other recovery equipment. The side puller incorporates a winch with a cable that tends out toward one side of the vehicle supported by a frame. The cable can be attached to, and used recover vehicles at angles perpendicular to the vehicle. Although conventional side pullers have proved very useful, and greatly increased the safety and versatility of those recovery vehicles equipped with them, further improvements are possible.